The Ties Between Love & War
by SamIndividualist
Summary: On a rainy spring day, Harry Potter wanders across the soaked grounds to find Samantha Weasley. They both play for a little and soon they reveal their feelings toward one another. They soon find out that there's more to a relationship that what they think


Samantha hummed to herself as she neared the entrance hall, tugging on her slicker, getting ready to head out into the pouring rain. Jerking the door open, she peered outside, her emerald green eyes squinting out across the blurry grounds. She smiled and stepped cautiously down the marble steps and onto the sodden green grass. The cold rain soaked her fire red locks as she ran to an oak tree for shelter from the rain. Shivering, she pulled her wet hair back into a damp pony tail. She looked out across the grounds to see if anyone else was out there, battling it out with the rain drops that were the size of dinner plates.  
  
Once outside, Harry descended down onto the soaked grass. The rain wasn't as bad as it had seemed, something with the windows distorts the power of the storm. He tucked his hands into his pockets, and shook his hair, causing splashes of water to fly everywhere. Laughing to himself, he began walking again, and as he walked his sneakers squeaked along the grass. The rain was coming down to a drizzle, however, the air was still gray and foggy. The sun was no where to be found, but this didn't bother him. Harry had a fancy for rainy days, they just seemed so fresh, as odd as it sounded. He continued strolling along the grass, hoping to find a wandering student, but knowing the chances were extremely slim.  
  
Samantha Got up, curiously, and saw Harry. She smirked and ran over to him, tackling him. Though she thought she could tackle him, she wasn't very successful, seeing as how she couldn't knock him over. Laughing, Sam ruffled Harry's hair playfully and smiled to him happily, "Hullo!" she said, trying to get off of his back. She slipped and fell onto the wet grass with a thud, her eyes closed tightly as she muttered, "Oww.. That's gonna hurt.." as Sam got up, dusting herself off.

Harry staggered a few feet, but was still standing as Sam attempted to tackle him. He laughed and helped her from the damp grass, taking her hand. His face flushed a deep crimson as he let go of her hand and rubbed the back of his neck with the other hand, "So.. What're you doing out here?" he asked nervously.

Sam tried the best she could to stifle her laugh as she noticed Harry's reaction. She kicked a rock with her foot and looked to the ground, "Nothing, really.. Just boredom.." she replied with a small little sigh. Her cheeks had become a bright pink after Harry let go of her hand. She looked up and cleared her throat and then looked to Harry, "So.. What about you?" she asked, curiously. Sam was a very curious person. She loved knowing what people were doing and such, it just entertained her. She smiled happily at Harry and couldn't resist messing up his hair once more.  
  
The awkwardness was hard to bear, so Harry was relieved when Sam ruffled his hair. "I couldn't stand much more of that castle. So I ventured out here," it felt good that someone cared where he was going, and why. So with a new smile playing across his lips, he reached down and grabbed Sam's waist tickling her furiously. "Hope you're not ticklish!"  
  
Harry obviously knew that Sam was very ticklish, indeed. She squirmed away from him and ran over to a tree and hid behind it, occasionally peeking out from it to see if Harry had followed her. She laughed, but then stopped abruptly as she thought that Harry might've heard her.  
  
It seemed as if Harry hit the jackpot. Sam was indeed extremely ticklish, and took refuge behind a tree. Harry crept around slowly, going on the opposite side. As he heard a small giggle from the other side of the tree he jumped out at her, playfully knocked her to the ground, and began tickling her furiously. Laughing all the while.  
  
Sam closed her eyes tightly as she was being tortured with tickles. She raised her hands, "Fine! Fine! I surrender!" She said between laughs as she opened her eyes slowly. She was now a bright red. She smiled happily at Harry, "You knew I was ticklish!" she said, in fake surprise. She shoved him as she smiled, playfully.   
  
Harry decided that enough was enough, and ceased the tickling. Sticking out his tongue, he joked, "So what if I knew!" By now the rain had pretty much cleared, and the sun was creeping out behind a large fluffy gray cloud. Laying back onto the damp grass he sighed, and rested his head on his hands and stared up at the sky.   
  
Sam's fingers lingered over to Harry and poked him. She retracted her hand and looked up at the sky, whistling out of tune to a song she didn't know. She glanced over at Harry and then looked up at the sky, trying her hardest to keep from laughing. She chuckled happily and rolled over onto her back, laughing at how bad she was at bluffing.  
  
A laugh escaped Harry's lips as he felt a finger poking him. Reaching over, he poked her back. He then stared at the sky, his smile never faltering. It was incredible to him how much he happened to smile, and laugh around her. He wasn't complaining of course, he just wasn't used to it. The sun by then was almost half shining along the grounds, reflecting off every droplet of water left on the tree's and grass. Tearing his eyes away from the sky, he propped his head up on his hand, and turned facing Sam.  
  
Samantha chuckled as Harry counter poked her. She noticed just then that Harry seemed to smile a lot when they were together. She smiled to herself and looked at her hand. She turned to face Harry, frowning and feeling over her face, "What? Do I have something on my face?" she asked, worriedly.  
  
"Don't worry, there's nothing on your face," He said, stifling a laugh. His hair was somewhat damp from the recent rainstorm, however, it continued to stick up in all directions. He ran a hand through it, attempting to make it lay flat, but of course it sprung right back up. "Ugh. I hate my hair," he mumbled through a frowned face, a bit annoyed.  
  
Samantha smiled and shook her head, reaching out and trying to flatten Harry's untidy raven black hair. She laughed as she was unsuccessful with it and looked at Harry, "It's fine.. It adds to your personality, I guess.." she said, happily. "Why d'you even bother trying to flatten it? It always stays the same, you know.." She said, giggling.  
  
Harry couldn't help but laugh, as even Sam failed to flatten it. "I suppose you're right. It's just a waste of time," He retreated from fixing his hair, and laid back down on his back, staring up at the sky. It was becoming increasingly warmer outside, and the sun revealed itself more and more. He removed his robe, and rolled up the sleeves on his shirt. "Students should be pouring outside any second, now that it's cleared up and all," He said, watching a small group of second year girls walk by.  
  
Sam nodded as a single sigh escaped her lips. "That's the thing about Hogwarts, it's too crowded, everywhere you go.." She said, taking out her wand and twirling in between her fingers. Getting increasingly bored, Sam hummed to a melody and pocketed her wand, silently. "What're you thinking?" She asked as she laid on her back, looking at Harry, interestedly.  
  
Harry followed the tip of Sam's wand with his eyes, and she twirled it. "About how gorgeous you are-" he caught himself, but it was to late. The damage was done, he wanted to just reach out and shove the words back into his mouth. "Er...Sorry..." He trailed off, his face flushing a bright crimson, as he stared straight at the sky, not daring to make any eye contact with her.  
  
Sam looked at Harry for a moment, the words registering in her mind. "Uhm.. It's okay, really.." she said, inspecting her hand, her face a bright pink. A smile crept onto her face, though she didn't know it. "Uh-- Harry? Do you really think that?" she asked, still looking at her hand, shyly. Usually she wouldn't act like this, and she didn't know why she was acting like so.  
  
Summoning up the courage, Harry turned propped himself onto his hand, and faced her. "Of course I do...But, it doesn't matter. I'm sure you get that all the time," He shrugged, why should his opinion matter to her. He'd given up on the thought of ever having a girlfriend, because, everyone treated him as if he had a disease. Sure he was Harry Potter, "the boy who lived," but that just scared people. After all, he was the only person to survive Voldemort, and that wasn't something to brag about.  
  
Sam shook her head and brought her emerald green eyes to his, "No, actually. I don't." she said slowly. No one had ever said that about her before, well, except her parents, but that was different. And hearing it from Harry was something new to her, as well. "Harry, your opinion means a lot to me, incase you thought it didn't…" she trailed off, smiling the littlest of smiles she could.  
  
Harry's eyes locked with Sam's, and for a moment it felt as if everything was at a stand still. "You really mean that?" He never thought that she even thought twice about him. He just figured he was just another classmate. "I can't believe no ones said that to you before..." He reached up, and tucked a piece of her fire red hair behind her ear. "Because, you are,"  
  
Sam's face was now a deep red after Harry has tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. She smiled modestly. Sam had thought that Harry had always liked her as a friend, and this was new news to her. But to think that he actually felt something for her was exciting, and something to explore. But dare she tell him how she felt, too? It seemed the proper thing to do, seeing as how he had told her how he felt. "Erm-- Harry? I feel the same about you.." she muttered, still making eye contact with him.  
  
Harry paused, taking in Sam's words. It took him a few moments to understand what she said, then a few more to believe it. At first he thought she might be kidding, but realized it wasn't like her to do that. "Are you serious?" were the only words he could summon up to say.   
  
Sam smiled nervously as she could only nod. Breaking the eye contact, she looked up at the sapphire sky, still smiling nervously. The silence, she couldn't bare. Everything around her, the trees, the wind, the plants, the animals, all seemed to stand still as if waiting for a reaction.  
  
Harry was at a loss for words. Nothing in his vocabulary could sum up how happy he felt. It was unbelievable. He felt as if he could conjure a patronus large enough to deflect all the dementors in the world. Doing the only thing that felt right, he leaned over towards Sam, and pressed his lips to hers. He pulled away, his face now a bright pink, and stared steadily at the sky.  
  
Overtaken by the kiss, Sam repressed a giggle and felt a wave of crimson engulf her as she smiled up at the sky, happily. "Er-- Thanks.." Was all that came out of her pink lips as she glanced at Harry from the corner of her eye. She smiled to him and picked a daffodil from a patch of flowers nearby and began to tie it into a bow. It seemed as if everything seemed so beautiful around her, nature itself was glorious at that time.  
  
Harry sat up, resting on his elbows. He watched Sam over by the daffodils, and smiled widely. "Can I ask you something Sam?" He said, watching her anxiously. He was afraid of what he was about to ask her, because there was still a chance she wasn't serious. However, everything was worth risk. "Would you err-...Be my...girlfriend?" He mumbled this avoiding eye contact with her, and rubbing his hand nervously over the back of his neck.  
  
Sam perked her eyebrows and looked at Harry, thinking. "Well, how long have we known each other?" she asked, trying to make the moment a tad more dramatic, as she built up the suspense enough for her to think. Mum always told her that she should always ask a guy how long they've known each other before answering. So, as she thought, she contemplated what Ron would think, or Mum, or Dad.  
  
Harry blinked, a bit let down. After all he had known the Weasley's for close to six years. However, he didn't want to pressure her. "I dunno..." He said, a frown appearing over his face. He stared at her anxiously, hoping she wouldn't turn him down. But, then again, who was he kidding.  
  
Sam nodded, "About five or six years, now?" she asked. She furrowed her brow in mock thinking mode. "Well.. I do suppose we both know each other well enough.." she muttered to herself, drumming her fingers on the grass. And I suppose that Mum and Dad will be fine with it, as well.. She thought, her brow still furrowed. Raising her eyes to his, Sam finally answered, "Sure.. Yeah.. I'll be your girlfriend." She said, her face almost as bright as her hair.  
  
Harry's frown instantly turned into a beaming smile, as she agreed. "Really? You're serious?" He voice was dripping with excitement. He couldn't believe this, she was actually his girlfriend. It was too good to be true, there had to be some catch.  
  
Sam could tell that he was as happy as she and smiled happily at him. She crumpled the flower and threw it aside, now interested in Harry more than a silly little flower. "So.. What do you want to do?" She asked, slipping off her robe and setting it aside, the humidity getting a good grasp on her.  
  
Harry smiled at her, watching her fold up her robe. "I don't care, what do you want to do?" He began running ideas through his head, all just as boring as the last. However, a walk along the grounds didn't sound so bad. "How about a walk?" He suggested.  
  
Nodding, Sam got up and dusted herself off, stretching slightly. Smiling, she helped Harry up and took his hand, "A walk sounds nice," she said to him, messing up his hair just for good measure. Giggling she shook her head and tucked some of her fire red hair behind her ears.  
  
Harry stood up, and brushed off his shirt. As Sam ruffled his hair, he reached forward, and tickled her sides. "I got you back!" he said laughing. They began to walk along the grounds, the grass still slightly damp. Harry's eyes traveled down to Sam's hand which was resting at her side, and he seized it, holding it in his hand. He turned to her, and smiled, but kept a steady pace.  
  
As Harry took hold of Sam's hand, her freckled face became tinged with pink. She looked at the lake, it seemed to be beckoning her to it. "D'you want to go for a swim?" she asked excitedly. It had been so long since she had last gone swimming in it. Smiling, she lead him closer to the lake.  
  
Harry stared down at the lake, it was rather hot out, and a swim did sound nice. "Sure. Why not," He said shrugging, and heading down towards it. Once down at the lakes edge, he released Sam's hand, and began untying his shoes. The lake was a deep navy blue, and had a small laid of fog on the surface from the rain. "D'you swim in here often?" He asked.  
  
Shrugging, Sam kicked off her shiny black shoes and sat on the grass to pull off her socks, balling them up and stuffing them into the shoes. She hummed as she rolled up her sleeves, "Well, I used to, but then I got tied up with school and such and I never had time.." she said, walking closer to the edge of the lake. Her legs kicked off the ground as she dove into the icy cold depths that were the lake. After a little while under the water, she broke the surface, treading the water steadily.  
  
Harry unrolled his socks, and tossed them next to a rock by his shoes. He walked down towards the lakes edge, and put a foot in. The water was a little cool, but not uncomfortable. He walked along the bottom until he the water reached his chest, and he began to swim. He floated around for a while, treading water until he saw Sam come to the surface. Diving under, he swam underneath her, and came up behind her, laughing.  
  
Sam turned around and gasped, for she didn't know it was Harry at the time. Seeing it was only him, she splashed some water at him playfully. She swam backwards and off to a rock that was just above the water. She rested on the rock and looked at Harry, laughing to herself as she sat on the rock. A snail was making it's way across the rock as Sam picked it up and set it on the other side.  
  
Harry laughed at Sam, and splashed her back. He then swam in a few large circles, until becoming tired and retreated to lazily floating on his back. "The lake's really fascinating..." He mumbled, recounting the memory of him in fourth year during the second task. He had to swim to the bottom and rescue Ron. He wondered if the Merpeople still lived down at the bottom, then realized that they obviously did. He dove deep into the water, until it became cooler and cooler against his face. Once out of breath, he returned to the surface and began treading again.  
  
Yawning, Sam stretched out on the rock, basking in the sunlight. A small smile found its way to her face as she closed her eyes, gradually getting warmer from the heat of the sun. Opening her eyes, she looked to Harry, just incase he was sneaking up on her or something. Noticing that he was just treading water, she laid back on the rock, her pointer finger dipped in the water as she hummed a tune. The water was getting warmer steadily as the sun heated it like old pizza in a micro wave.  
  
Harry smiled over at Sam when he saw her glance at him. "Don't worry. I'm not going to scare you," Although it was quite entertaining to watch her jump. He dove down again, this time getting a little deeper, and the water a little cooler. However, he chest began to hurt so he burst towards the surface, and floated on his back once more.  
  
Sitting up on her elbows, she shaded her eyes and looked at Harry, "That's like.. The millionth time you've gone under and come up!" she said squinting her emerald green eyes, "Don't go down for so long.. It makes me scared that you won't come up.." she mumbled, sliding off of the rock and into the water, swimming closer to Harry, smiling.  
  
Harry shook the water out of his short ebony hair, and squinted towards Sam. She was somewhat blurry, due to the fact that he left his glasses on shore. "Of course I'll come up. Don't worry," He said with a reassuring smile. It felt good that she cared whether he came up from the water or not. Rubbing his eye, he splashed her with his free hand and laughed.  
  
Sam giggled and splashed him back. She just couldn't contain herself from ruffling Harry's hair. It's not like it made any difference, though, seeing as how it was always ruffled and untidy. It added to his character and personality, though. Her hand shot out and ruffled his hair as she giggled. "You hair is just so fun to ruffle and mess up!" she said, smiling happily at him.  
  
Harry laughed as the water blurred his vision even more. Then feeling a hand in his hair once more he laughed. "No matter what you do. It'll always go back the exact same way," he said, but he figured she enjoyed it, so he didn't object. Once she finished, he dove back under. This time, not going as deep, and not staying under as long. Once coming to the surface he smirked, "Told you I'd come back up,"  
  
Sam rolled her eyes and took out her wand that was tucked in her belt loop. She muttered a simple incantation that enabled Harry to see without glasses, like he had natural contacts. She smirked and tucked the wand back into her belt loop and nodded to her good work, "Hmm.. That ought to solve your problem while you're swimming." she said smiling happily. She patted Harry on the head as if he were a little kid. But then chuckled and kissed him on the cheek, her face a bright red.  
  
Harry blinked a numerous amount of times. "Whoa..." he muttered in amazement. However, he was snapped back into reality when Sam kissed his cheek. He didn't blush this time, he just got a severe case of goose bumps. He was getting more and more used to the idea that Sam was his girlfriend every second. However, he never stopped feeling lucky. He smiled at her, and dove under water again, this time grabbing her foot. He then swam far away, and came up a good 10 yards from her.  
  
As Harry pulled Sam's leg, she panicked for a minute and then saw Harry swim away. She swam after him and fwapped him playfully, "You know I panic easily!" she giggled, happily. It seemed as though Harry had fun making her panic or jump. Though she tried to scare him many times, he usually figured out it was her. Tying her fire red hair into a high pony tail, she smirked at Harry happily.  
  
Harry smirked at Sam, and she hit him. "Yeah. But, It's so tempting to scare you," He said to her laughing a bit. It was true, every time he did something she'd jump a mile. "You're cute when you're scared," he nudged her playfully, and then splashed her. The sun was now beating down on the back of his neck, and the air was increasingly warmer. Running a hand through his unruly hair, and he stared off at shore. "I just hope Malfoy doesn't come knick our shoes..."  
  
Sam shrugged and looked to the castle, nonchalantly, "What would he be doing in the sun? He'd melt, you know." she said matter of factly to him. She laughed as the image of Malfoy melting in the sun drifted into her mind. She shivered and looked at her watch. It was nearing dinner time and the sun would be setting soon. She looked towards the clouds, quietly.  
  
A loud laugh escaped Harry's mouth at Sam's comment. Watching her shiver, he glanced up at the sky. "D'you want to go back to the castle?" he asked. Now that he thought about it, his stomach was starting to feel a bit empty, and it would start to rapidly get cooler soon. He began to swim towards shore, occasionally dipping under water. Once he reached shore, he pulled on his shocks and laced up his shoes, then sat onto a rock waiting for Sam.  
  
Sam nodded and swam after Harry. Once on shore, she pulled on her robe and then her socks and shoes, "If Filch sees water on the floor and footsteps from it, he'll know someone was in the lake," She chuckled. Wrapping her cloak tighter around her soaking wet body, she yawned widely and helped Harry from the rock. "We better hurry up to our Common Rooms to change as soon as possible so we don't catch hypothermia."  
  
Harry wrapped his robe around himself, and began walking towards the castle. His feet squished in his shoes, and his clothes began to feel like ice. "I think I've already caught it he said," Laughing a bit, as he teeth chattered. Finally they reached the castle, and entered through the large oak doors. He avoided awkward glances from students, and hurriedly walked through corridor after corridor, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Sam never left.  
  
Sam ran and caught up with Harry, perking her eyebrows at the students giving them strange looks. She took Harry's hand and smiled to him happily. Their footsteps carried them up many flights of stair until they finally made it to the Gryffindor Common Room. "I'll be right down, Harry." She said as she let go of his hand and went up to her dorm to change. After a little while, Sam came down wearing her uniform that was dried and the only thing that gave away that they had gone swimming, was her dripping wet locks.  
  
Harry smiled at Sam as she grabbed his hand. He then took the opposite staircase to his dormitory, and changed his clothes. He pulled a towel out of his dresser, and ran it through his hair drying it. He slipped on a dry uniform, but left his robe in his dormitory. Descending the stairs, he waiting for Sam to exit her dormitory as well. He took a seat on one of the large over stuffed sofa's opposite the fire, and stared into it.  
  
Exiting her dorm, Sam walked down the stairs and saw Harry sitting on the couch, looking at the fire. She smirked and crept up behind him and covered his eyes with her hands and said in a rather manly voice, "Guess who, Potter?" she repressed a giggle and covered it up as a cough. She was determined to surprise Harry, no matter what the circumstance.  
  
Harry twinged a tad, then realized it was Sam. Laughing he said, "Get off Malfoy!" and jumped up from his seat. He walked around the couch and approached her. Planting a soft kiss on her cheek he chuckled, "Nice try," He found it amusing that he could make her jump out of skin at the slightest touch, and nothing she could do barely made him think. Harry wasn't one to be scared easily, but then again in his position, who would be.  
  
Sam snapped her fingers sarcastically, "Shoot.." She said as she smiled when he kissed her. Her face no longer needed to blush, getting used to the fact that Harry and her were a couple and that they were both off the market, now. She turned so that she was facing him and fixed his tie. Sometimes little things got on her nerves, like when someone had their tag sticking out of their shirt, or something like that. But nothing about Harry upset her.  
  
Harry laughed as Sam fixed his tie, he had done it in a hurry. However, his tie never really did look nice. He just got sick of doing it perfect every morning, and sort of just slapped it on. "Does it look that bad?" He muttered smiling down at her. Reaching down he tucked another lock of her camp red hair behind her ear. His finger trailed down along her cheek and onto her chin. He lifted her face to his and kissed her. Then pulled away and smiled widely. "Sorry...I just can't do that enough times,"  
  
Sam shook her head, smiling, "No, no, no. It's quite alright. I don't tire of it." she said, ruffling his hair, chuckling. She just couldn't ruffle his hair enough times. Maybe it was the way the hair felt, or just the irony of trying to mess up his hair even more. "You look so cute when you try to flatten your hair." She said, giggling slightly. Harry had always appealed to her in more way than one, and whenever he smiled, she seemed to smile, too.  
  
Harry instinctively reached up to flatten his hair, then pulled away and blushed at her comment. "Yeah, well it's a hopeless case," However, this time when she ruffled his hair, he could feel air against his forehead, which mean his scar was uncovered. He raised a hand, and pressed his hair back over his scar. That was the only self conscious thing he had. He figured that maybe she'd remember his past, and become scared of him.  
  
Sam couldn't help but giggle at Harry's reactions. She smiled and shook her head. Knowing him all too well, she should have expected him to flatten his hair after she ruffled it. The common room was very deserted, indeed. No one was to be seen on the chairs, or at a table. They were either around the grounds, in the Great Hall, or somewhere in Hogwarts. Shrugging, she sighed slightly.  
  
Harry watched Sam's eyes travel around the Common Room. "What are you thinking?" He asked, taking a seat once more on the same sofa. Flames were dancing around in the fireplace, and he stared into them. Right then, and small second year girl walked into the common room and gave Harry and Sam an extremely odd look before retreating to her dormitory. "She wasn't too friendly," He said smiling.  
  
Sighing, Sam sat down next to Harry just as the girl gave them an odd look. "It's so deserted in here.." She replied, gazing into the glorious fire, "Hardly anyone in the common room.." she muttered, a wide yawn escaping her pink lips. Propping her feet up on the table, she wished something eventful would happen.  
  
Harry crossed his arms over his chest and sat there. The room was silent, except for the ticking of a nearby clock. Harry stared at Sam out of the corner of his eye, admiring how gorgeous she looked in the firelight. The sun was almost set outside the window, and the room was filled with a deep purple. Becoming increasingly bored, Harry turned to face Sam. He stared deep into her emerald green eyes, and then pressed his lips against her, this time causing it to linger a bit more.  
  
Overwhelmed by the lingering of the kiss, Sam blinked a few times and smirked at Harry, "That was different from the others.." She turned so that she was facing him. Resting her chin on her hand, she gazed at Harry, thinking of how cute he was. Sam didn't know really what she felt for the boy-who-lived, was it his personality? His looks? She didn't know, but whatever it was, was special.  
  
Harry smiled down at her. He then spun himself sideways, and rested his feet on the arm of the couch with his head on her thigh. His hair flipped back revealing his scar, and he began to reach up to flatten it, but then retracted. He figured she didn't care whether it was showing or not. "Well...this is really exciting..." he mumbled sarcastically.  
  
Sam chuckled and looked down at Harry. He was so weird sometimes, but she didn't care, she liked him all the same. Smiling sweetly, she played with his hair, amusing herself quietly. It was so quiet in the common room, the only thing heard was the swift crackling of the fire in front of the couch. A few 6th year girls came down from their dorms, chatting merrily, but then they noticed Sam and Harry and stared for a bit and walked quietly out. "What's wrong with them?" she asked, quietly.  
  
Harry glanced up at Sam smiling, however the smile faded as the girls walked by and stared. "I dunno. Suppose they're mad?" He couldn't understand why they would be. It sort of upset him, that people were already judging and giving them foul looks. However, he shouldn't let it get to him. He had Sam, and that was what made him happy. Just then a sharp pain shot through his forehead disrupting his thoughts. "Arg!" He sat bolt upright, and rubbed his scar, however, the pain had left just as quickly as it had come.  
  
"What's wrong, Harry? Are you alright?" She asked, concern showing on her face. Sam seemed to wear her emotions a lot and never really noticed it. She turned and faced Harry, her hand on his. Maybe he got sudden whiplash? Or maybe a headache? But she knew all too well that it was far from that. It wouldn't be whiplash, his head was on her lap the whole time. It could have been a headache, but from what?  
  
Harry silently cursed himself. Why'd he jump up like that in front of her. It was just a simple pain, nothing to panic about. But he had to be a stupid prat, and make a fool out of himself. "Oh...Er-It's nothing. Don't worry about it," The last thing he wanted was Sam worrying about him. He stared back into the fire, avoiding eye contact with Sam. He hadn't had a pain in a long time, and wondered why all the sudden it had sprung back up. However, he pushed that to the back of his mind, and continued to stare into the fire.  
  
Sam rolled her eyes, she knew him all too well, "Harry, don't even try to cover it up, just tell me. It can't be nothing if you went 'Arg!'" she said, staring at him, determined to figure out what was wrong. That was one of the qualities that came with dating the-boy-who-lived, sometimes he doesn't tell you everything, and sometimes he does. And Sam sensed that he wasn't telling her everything, so she planned on pestering him, though she didn't want to, but had to. For his own good.  
  
Harry's eyes lingered in the fire, "I dunno. My scar just twinged. It's not a big deal. Really. Happens all the time..." He trailed off and began nervously searching over the room. No one was to be found, the room was completely deserted, and the sky was now a dark navy blue. It was now almost pitch black in the room, the only thing to be seen was Sam and Harry's faces illuminated by the firelight. He trailed a finger over his scar, which still tingled a bit. "Don't worry about it," He mumbled, and with that flattened his bangs over it.  
  
Sam shrugged her shoulders and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked at the fire. She had a reason to worry about it though, maybe the pain was stronger than the last? She didn't know, but she sighed as she contemplated the possible outcomes. Dinner had started a few minutes ago, she thought, that must be why no one's in here.. They're all at dinner.  
  
Harry's eyes searched the room once more as silence took over again. Two young first years entered the common room, they were holding sweets in their hand, and talking loudly. Harry didn't even think they noticed the two sitting there, because they continued straight up to their dormitories. Just then, Harry's stomach made a loud noise, followed by laughter. "Suppose you want to go down to dinner?" He asked, he eyes finally tearing away from the fire and locking with Sam's.  
  
Sam yawned as she nodded. Getting up, she stretched and looked around the common room. It was rather dark in there as she looked around. She took out her wand and muttered, "Lumos maximus" and it instantly lit up the room. She smiled widely and waited for Harry to get up from the warm and cozy couch. Pocketing her wand, she tucked a piece of her fire red hair behind her ears.  
  
Exiting the Girl's bed chamber,Hermione dressed in her robes, hair worn down but slightly pulled back with a headband, she walks down the spiral staircase, eyeing Harry and Sam as she enters the Gryffindor Common Room. Giving a quick glace to either side of herself, seeing if Crookshanks was wondering about aimlessly amongst the Common Room, she catches up to the two fellow Gryffindor walking up from behind them both. "Boo."  
  
Harry stood up just in time for Hermione to yell "Boo" behind both of them. "Nice try 'Moine," He muttered, turned to smirk at her. He then grabbed Sam's hand, and climbed through the portrait hole. The two of them made their way through corridor after corridor, passing many younger students on their way back from dinner. He was noticing that a few people shot them quizzical looks, however, not many.   
  
Once they had finally reached the Great Hall, Sam looked around, her brow furrowed. It seemed as though a lot of people were staring at them, whispering hurriedly to the person next to them, or laughing. Maybe Harry and Sam didn't get the memo, because they were totally confused at why everyone was acting so bizarre. It just wasn't normal.  
  
Harry turned and gave same a confused look, "What d'you suppose everyone's-" Then it hit him, he was still holding Sam's hand. Students were probably sitting there discussing what they thought about the two. He didn't really care if people were going to be rude, he had Sam, and that's all that mattered. As the two of them took their seats at the Gryffindor table, Ron flashed Harry a thumbs up. Smiling back at him, he began loading his plate with food.  
  
Sam released Harry's hand as she made her way to a platter of chicken and a bowl of mashed potatoes. Setting the food on her plate, she sat down next to Ginny, an empty space next and in front of her. Even Ginny was acting weird, it definitely was odd, though. Shrugging to herself she tucked into her food and poured herself some pumpkin juice.  
  
As Harry began eating a biscuit when he realized that people even at the Gryffindor table were whispering. His nerves were running short, as he watched a few people from the Slytherins table point and stifle laughs. Soon enough, Harry felt a pull on his right sleeve, and turned to see Ron's freckled face staring at him. "Yes, Ron. We're dating," He mumbled through clenched teeth. Just then Ron turned from Harry and sent the news right on down the Gryffindor table. A ripple of whispers exploded, and he turned back to Sam. "Don't suppose that was a good idea,"  
  
Sam lifted her eyebrows as she hid behind her glass of pumpkin juice. It was amazing how fast gossip traveled at Hogwarts. Ginny's face was whispering quietly to Lavender Brown, sitting next to her. Sam was younger than Ginny, but she seemed to act a bit more mature than she had been acting lately. Rolling her eyes, Sam bit into a buttered roll. She finished down the roll with some pumpkin juice and dabbed at her lips with her napkin.  
  
Harry's face was turning slightly pink as more people began to stare. "It's not that big a deal. Honestly..." He mumbled to Sam out of the corner of his mouth. A few older boys whistled a catcall down at the end of the table. Harry put his arms over his head, and rested it on the table. He was used to people whispering when he got near, everywhere he went in the wizarding world there was always someone pointing or muttering something. However, he felt guilty that now Sam had to deal with it.   
  
Sam now new what Harry had to deal with. She didn't like it very much, considering how a few of her friends were ignoring her, possibly because they liked Harry and were jealous of her. Sighing, she rolled her eyes and looked up and down the Gryffindor Table. Lots of people were ignoring her, and some were sneering at her. "Now I know how you feel.." she mumbled to Harry as she rested her head on the table, looking at the woodwork.  
  
The whispers were starting to cease, either that or Harry was becoming numb to them. His stomach now felt as though it was tied into a horrible knot, and he'd lost any sense of appetite from that evening. Not daring to look up, he continued to rest his head in his arms, sighing heavily. "S'alright now. Just wait until Malfoy comes over to take a shot," He titled his head over to admire Sam's fire red locks, her head resting like his against the table. He was half tempted to pull her into a hug, however, that would be a sure way to make the Great Hall explode with whispers far worse than this.  
  
Sam couldn't stand it any longer. She was very tempted to stand up and yell, "Shut up about it!" but restrained herself completely and settled for a heavy sigh. All too glad that Malfoy hadn't come to rag on them, she grabbed an apple and took a rather large bite out of it and began to chew it slowly. Finishing it off with just the core left, she set it on her plate with a loud thud. A few people looked to her as she laid her head back on the table, annoyed by all the whispers going around.  
  
Lupin tilted his head a little as he tapped Harry's shoulder. He was extremely worried, Harry was always in trouble and he thought that it maybe was his scar or something. He cleared his throat, desperately trying to get Harry's attention, he seemed condensed into himself "Harry, finally." He paused uncomfortably, Harry probably was wondering why he was here "I expect you're wondering why I'm here, don't worry...nothing bad." He noticed that a girl was in the same uncomfortable position as Harry and curiously looked to the girl, Sam, and then to Harry.  
  
Harry twinged a bit when Sam dropped her apple core onto the large golden plate. Harry's head finally came up from the table when he heard his name being muttered, accompanied by a cough. His eyes met with none other than Remus Lupin. Why would he be in the castle, let alone the Great Hall. "Yeah. Why are you here?" He couldn't remember the last time he saw Lupin. He reckoned, it was about the time that Sirius...died.   
  
Lupin raised an eyebrow and rested his hand on the Gryffindor table "Well, I'm being offered the Defense Against the Dark Arts position again, and I accepted, I need to meet Professor Dumbledore soon, but I can't find him." He paused and bit his bottom lip nervously before continuing "Well, I'm having second thoughts." He then tapped his foot and finally decided to ask him why he seemed so uncomfortable "Why so uneasy?"  
  
Harry's eyes widened at Lupin, "Really? That's brilliant!" As he mentioned that he couldn't find Dumbledore, Harry's eyes scanned the Great Hall. However, he couldn't find the headmaster. "I dunno, it's not a big deal..." He mumbled under his breath in response to Lupin's question. He didn't feel like drawing any more attention to himself, if anyone were to catch the words, Sam, or Dating.   
  
Sam looked up to see Professor Lupin. Her face brightened instantly remembering the classes with Lupin, "Harry, I'm going to go outside, where it's quiet.. Alright?" she mumbled to him, getting up, her freckled face splotched with red. Walking out, she passed the Slytherins table, not looking at any of them, just hearing their painful jeering and snickering to her as she made her way out of the Great Hall.  
  
Annoyed by his other classmates lack of answers, Draco scowled, standing to his full height of 5"10. "Fine, if none of you idiots know why Lupin is here, I'll find out." Casually, he made his way towards the direction of the Gryffindor table, with his usual 'I am superior to you all!' strut, and stood behind the former Professor. Gently, he tapped the other man on the shoulder. "Excuse me, not to be rude, but why are you here? You where sacked in our third year." he said, gazing over Lupin with an ominous glower.  
  
Remus lightly nodded then he shrugged, still scanning for Albus, getting a bit frustrated "It seems that you are having some problems, but if you don't want me to know, I'll just not ask." He looked over to that girl that looked as uneasy as Harry and shrugged as she left the Great Hall, he thought that it was his fault and he mumbled something inaudibly. Then he slowly turned around to see Draco Malfoy, easily his least favorite student, but the wouldn't show it to him "Well, Mr. Malfoy, I'm going to be your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor once again."  
  
The beaming smile that had played across Harry's face when Lupin arrived, was immediately wiped off at the site of Malfoy. Figuring he'd let Lupin handle this, he turned his back to the two wizards, just in time to watch Sam exit the Great Hall. Silently cursing to himself, he stood up to run after her. However, it would cause a very unwanted scene if he was to leave right then. So, he reduced himself to running a hand through his untidy ebony hair, and staring as Lupin and Malfoy conversed.  
  
Looking at Lupin slack jawed, Draco held back as much hate as he could, which wasn't really an easy thing for him to do as he replied with a simple, "Oh." and gave Harry a long, sickened glare before turning to walk back to his table, a sneer on his face. Sitting down back in his spot with a thud, Draco lifted his elbows to the table and once again rested his chin on his hands. "I can't believe it. I can't fucking believe it. Dumbledore knows that bastard is a werewolf, and he hires him..Again? I knew that the old man was off his rocker, but putting us all in danger? He is a fucking psychopath!" he said, burring his slender fingers in his hair and growling lowly. "Ah well. I guess that means we'll just have to get him fired again…" he said to himself, low enough to keep out of reach from the Gryffindor, but loud enough for his cronies to hear him.   
  
Remus watched as Draco walked back to his own table and smirked, he could see the redness showing in his pale face. Draco obviously didn't want Remus Lupin, the dangerous werewolf, was going to be Defense Against the Dark Arts professor again. This is why he was having second thoughts about accepting the position. He then slowly turned back to Harry, still wondering why he was so uneasy. "So, how are you?" He was trying to keep off the subject of Sirius, the last time Harry had seen him was when Sirius...passed and he didn't want to bring bad memories. He then looked at Harry, becoming uneasy himself.  
  
As soon as Draco had walked away, it was made obvious he didn't want Lupin as the teacher. Sitting there, gazing deeply into the mashed potatoes, you could tell the little gears inside Draco's sickeningly blonde head where turning. -Now let's see…How should I go about this without getting into trouble…- he wondered, tapping his fingertips against his cheek absent-mindedly.   
  
Harry scowled back at Malfoy, and watched him until he settled at his own table. "Stupid git," he voiced, turning his eyes back to Lupin's. Harry could almost see the pain swimming in them. He figured he was grieving just as much, if not more than Harry was for Sirius. "I'm getting better. Things are getting easier. How about you?" Concern was dripping in every word he spoke. By now most of the students were either filtering out of the Great Hall, or talking lively to one another. It seems that the Sam/Harry episode had passed. "Did you check Dumbledore study? He's normally there. Here, I'll walk you," He said, turning to leave the Great Hall.  
  
Lupin looked up at Harry, slowly starting to follow his trail, not understanding he was saying at first. Then he realized that he was talking about Sirius. 'How did he know?' he thought, dumbfounded. Then he looked at Harry, sympathy etched all over his face, he was supposed to comfort Harry and it seemed like Harry was comforting him. "How's school and schoolwork going? I hope you're still as talented in defending yourself against the dark arts as you were before. Your first Patronus was one of the best that I've ever seen for a first, definitely better than mine, and you were thirteen!" He said that proudly because he was the one who taught it to him, he was beaming.  
  
A smile spread across Harry's face at Lupin's comment. "I guess it wasn't too shabby. School's okay, I guess. Potions is horrid. But, that's nothing new," Once out of the Great Hall, they traveled father and further along corridors. The talking, and laughing of the Great Hall had died away, and their footsteps echoed along the candlelit hallway. "Malfoy didn't seem too pleased when you told him the news about teaching," He said laughing a bit. Anything to disrupt Malfoy's happiness was brilliant to Harry.  
  
Draco, still seemingly lost in his own world of Lupin-Destruction, gazed at the Gryffindor table once more with gray eyes, a frown on his lips. "Maybe the Insult curse…No, that wouldn't work, Professor Snape insults kids all the time, and he never gets fired…Of course, he actually has skill in teaching, which is something Lupin lacks…" he thought to himself sullenly.   
  
Lupin realized he was walking about a lot slower than Harry and picked up the pace so that he was walking alongside his young friend, he sighed as he finally answered Harry's question. "I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" His voice was shaky, he couldn't lie his way out of a paper bag, but then his attention turned back to Harry and he occasionally nodded to show that he was interested and listening "Professor Snape is a little hard on you, isn't he? Be patient. As for Mr. Malfoy, I've noticed but I won't let it get to me, I'm not surprised if he was at his table, talking to his buddies and trying to figure out a way to get me sacked. It's not going to get to me though." He smiled in confidence and turned back to Harry "And Quidditch? I daresay you really remind me of your father when playing the sport." He sighed as he thought about James and their old schooldays, now Peter turned and both James and Sirius had passed now. He felt almost alone now  
  
A large smile played across Harry's face. He loved being associated with his father. "Quidditch is great. Like always," Finally the two of them reached the Gargoyle outside Dumbledore office. "I've not idea what the password is. However, I'm sure he'll eventually come down," He laughed at the thought of Lupin sitting there for days, and Dumbledore never coming down. Soon enough his thoughts drifted to Sam out on the grounds, and how she'd left dinner in a hurry. "Sorry Sir, but I've gotta go...Er...Do some homework. I'm sure I'll see you around," he held out his hand towards Lupin, and shook it.   
  
Lupin looked at Harry uncomfortably as he shook Harry's hand, no password? He shrugged and stood in front of the door, impatiently waiting for Dumbledore. "Good, Harry. Putting homework first, it's about time Miss Granger put some sense into you." He smirked as he began to pace, he knew he couldn't wait for Dumbledore for very long, though watching where Harry was going out the corner of his eye  
  
For a while, Sam had been hurling rocks out into the navy blue lake, muttering harsh words while doing so. Huffing gently, she plopped down on the dewy grass, cross legged, her elbows on her knees, her chin in her palms as she looked out across the lake, her brow furrowed angrily. "Why do people have to be so obsessed with everyone's lives?" she muttered, throwing another rock in to the lake's depths. Sam pulled back her fire red hair that had now dried and tied it into a low pony tail, tossing over the scene in the Great Hall over in her mind.  
  
Turning back to smile at Lupin for a split second before he rounded the corner. He made sure that he was out of site, before picking up a jog and heading towards the Entrance Hall. On his way he passed a group of Slytherins 5th years, and could barely make out the word "Lover boy" be thrown at him. Harry ignored them, and kept jogging straight on out of the castle and onto the grounds. It was somewhat brisk outside, and he half regretted leaving his robe on his bed. The sky was littered with stars, and the moon was almost full, so the grounds weren't exactly pitch black. However, he muttered "Lumos," just for extra light. Down by the lake he could barely make out the silhouette of a girl at the shore. His pace speeded up until he finally reached her.  
  
Sam barely heard Harry's footsteps on the ground as she was hurling the rocks into the lake, causing big splashes at the surface. Throwing the last rock in, she looked up to see who it was. Luckily, it wasn't Malfoy, or anyone else. It was Harry. She frowned and looked to her hand, silently as she spoke, "Sorry about leaving you in there.. I just couldn't stand it.." she muttered, sighing heavily. The day had progressed very well up until the went to dinner. That was the worst slice out of the day, and there was probably more yet to come.  
  
Lupin stood there for an hour or two, looking at the gargoyle that covers the entrance to the Headmaster's office. 'Why couldn't the man give me the password before?' He thought dully. He sighed and gave up, he didn't think Dumbledore would make his way down the stairs of his office. He turned around and began to make his way back to the Great Hall, he hadn't eaten dinner due to all the questions being thrown at him. He sighed and picked up his pace, he could feel his stomach grumbling and thought about how the full moon was coming in two days. "Great." He said to himself as he finally entered the Great Hall. He house elves were cleaning up dinner at that time, but there was still food on the table. He quickly grabbed some chicken and mashed potatoes as he sat down at the Hufflepuff table and quickly ate his food. After eating, he looked around, seeing a familiar house elf, Dobby. He smiled at Dobby and walked off, needing some fresh air he walked right outside and leaned against a bench, enjoying the slight breeze and looking up at the starts. He then noticed the moon at three quarters and bit his lip, knowing that he'd have to endure something in the very near future.  
  
Harry sat down next to Sam, he knees tucked against his chest. "I don't blame you. I would of left sooner if Lupin didn't show up..." All this came out in an undertone mumble. When he'd asked her out, he didn't take everything into consideration when asking her. Which was extremely selfish, and a bit embarrassing. "Look, Sam...I know it's hard, having everyone whisper about you and such. Which is why, I wouldn't be suprised or upset if you decided to call everything off..." He avoided her eyes, and began pulling dew soaked grass out of the ground and piling into a small stack.  
  
Sam's eyes widened, "Oh, no, Harry.. I wouldn't dream of doing that right now.." She said, looking at him, sadly, "Well, it'll soon blow over, you know.." she said, shrugging, slightly disappointed that Harry would even bring up the subject of breaking up with him. "There are numerous things I am willing to do, and be your girlfriend is one of them.." she trailed off, staring across the lake, silently. A single sigh escaped her mouth as she put her chin in the palm of her hands.  
  
Lupin walked a little further out on the castle grounds, heading towards the quidditch pitch. He loved night time, if it weren't a full moon night. It was always so quiet, he could think to himself and have some quiet at that time. He finally reached the pitch and walked in. He then walked to the exact middle of the field and fell onto the gravel/grass mix on the ground. He then immediately started thinking of his friends. He remembered when he was in the stands, watching Prongs play this game. He sighed and promised himself that he'd watch Harry at every single one of his games this year, he wanted to be reminded of his dear friend, and now that Sirius was gone, he needed that remembrance even more. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice himself sobbing softly.  
  
Anger was building up inside Harry's veins. This day had gone from amazing, to horrid just because of a bunch of worthless prats. Picking up a large rock, he threw it into the lake, accompainied by a low frustrated yell. He rested his head into his knees, and tugged at his hair. "I just don't understand them! My whole life at this castle, all they do is whisper about me. Like I'm some interesting topic of conversation. Ok, so I got used to it. But, you. You don't deserve that Sam..." he trailed off. Wishing more and more each second, that he could just be another average wizard. With parents, and a Godfather. He didn't want to have to worry about falling in love, because that person might die for him. He just wanted to be normal.  
  
"Maybe I don't, Harry, but.. I can get over it. It'll pass.." Sam said, laying on her back, looking up at the stars that are shyly beginning to creep out and wink down to them. "Maybe they're just trying to make us mad and embarrassed for their enjoyment.. Don't let it get to you.. It's what they want.." She trailed off, looking at her shoes, quietly.  
  
Harry stared up in amazement at the starry sky. "Yeah...I guess," he trailed off, his voice still had a lingering bit of fury in it. He couldn't believe how ruthless some of the students here could be. Slowly he closed his eyes, and listening to the nearby sound of the trees swaying in the moonlight breeze. A soft wind swept across his face, and he continued to keep his eyes shut. The darkness was somewhat relieving.  
  
Sam sighed heavily as her eyes looked from her shoes to the lake. The lake reflected the stars and the moon above it brilliantly, it was as if it was a mirage. Sighing heavily, still looking at the lake, wishing that people would mind their own business and leave them alone. It wasn't a big deal. They were obviously making a mountain out of a mole hole. Curling her knees up to her chest she laid her head down on her knees and sighed heavily.  
  
Harry's eyes traveled from the starlit sky to Sam's face. "I don't care what they think. They're probably just jealous, because I'm dating the most gorgeous girl alive..." A smile spread across his lips as he said this, which was extremely refreshing since he'd been scowling for hours. Pulling his wand out of his pocket he muttered "Lumos," which lighted the end, and then began drawing designs with the light in the darkness.  
  
How could she not smile at his comment? Grinning, she lifted up her head and asked, looking at the tip of his wand, "D'you really think that, Harry?" she asked quietly. Taking out her own wand she muttered "Lumos," and began to write things in the air, smiling. Drawing a pig, she giggled and drew it on a boat riding a monkey. After a few moments, the images faded and left just air.  
  
As Harry was in the middle of drawing a lion he answered, "Of course I mean it. I don't lie you know. Well, maybe to the Dursley's, but they don't count..." After the lion faded into the air, he drew a heart where Sam's drawings had disappeared. Somewhere off in the distance, the giant squid rose to the surface of the lake. Harry watched it's tenticals lazily swimming about, some things about Hogwarts never ceased to amaze him.  
  
Sam smirked and drew the letters .S. .W. and .H. .P. in the middle of it. After a few moments, it too faded into air. She sighed happily as things were getting a lot better than how they were in the Great Hall. A cool breeze blew her fire red locks as she yawned widely, gazing at the stars. Something about Hogwarts was very magical, indeed. The scenery, the smells, the weather, everything, even the people.


End file.
